This document has been developed to assist the school community in accessing the services of the Learning Enhancement Centre. (LEC)
The rooms used by the learning support staff are known as the Learning Enhancement Centre. All students are welcomed and encouraged to visit the Learning Enhancement Centre.
Marymount has an inclusive education policy for students with disabilities in the regular classroom settings. Within the Catholic Education System, the Learning Support Teacher, Inclusive Education, works in collaborative partnership to support a whole school commitment to the effective learning and teaching of students with individual needs.
The fundamental principle of an inclusive school is that all children should learn together wherever possible, regardless of any difficulties or differences that they may have. Inclusive schools must recognise and respond to the diverse learning needs of their students accommodating, where possible, for different styles and rates of learning. This may occur through:
- group and class support
- teaching strategies
- modified curriculum
- guided reading
- adaptation of printed materials
- individualised instruction, when needed
- resource use
- collaborative planning with teachers
- organisational arrangements
- partnerships with parents and staff
Students with special needs, who may be experiencing some difficulty with various aspects of the curriculum, are integrated in regular classrooms where they develop a sense of belonging. Withdrawal of students for work on an individual or small group program may occur but the preferred method of providing support is in-class, alongside peers.
Support can be provided through the partnership between the school and home which is extremely important. Learning Support Programs, backed up by home support are more likely to provide desired outcomes.
Students with Learning Difficulties are those who experience either short term or persistent long term problems in one or more areas of literacy, numeracy and metacognition (learning how to learn). This may occur because of a variety of reasons.
Some of these students, who because of the neurological basis of their diffulties, have persistent high support needs and are considered to have a learning disability or impairment.
Students with low incidence disabilities are those students who have been identified with a specific disability or impairment and as a result are verified. These include children with:
- A hearing impairment
- A speech and language impairment, including Semantic and Pragmatic Disorder
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- A social emotional disorder
- A physical impairment
- Pervasive Development Disorder
Verification is a process that is used when a student is believed to have educational needs arising from a disability and requires special education support. The primary purpose of verification is to determine the level of specialist support required by the student who has been identified as having a disability.
The verfication process assists in exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the student. Students are funded by the Commonwealth Government and require an Educational Adjustment Profile.
Some students require modifications to the curriculum to enable them to access the curriculum at a certain level.
The classroom teacher prepares the Student Support Profile in conjunction with the Learning Support Teacher, the Parents and the Consultant, the Guidance Counsellor as well as various other Brisbane Catholic Education or Education Queensland consultants, depending on the impairment.
There are some general classroom principles that support students with learning difficulties. These include:
- Diagnostic assessment to determine individual strengths and weakness in order to focus instruction on specific needs.
- Teaching principles that include explicit instruction, modelling, scaffolding expert guidance and the implementation of learning strategies.
- Regular monitoring of the progress of the student
- Parental involvement in planning for the student
- Small group, or individual systematic teaching, on a regular basis
- Referral to STIE and ongoing consultation with LEC staff
The teacher:
- Makes contact with the Learning Support Teacher, Inclusive Education.
- Completes the relevant sections of the referral form, which can provide the Support Teacher with a valuable written record of the concerns of the teacher, and the needs of the student.
- Collects information regarding the student such as work samples, class tests and strategies which have been implemented.
- Considers the type of intervention program that could support the class program.
Parents can arrange a meeting with the Support Teacher, Inclusive Education on request.
Where appropriate, a referral to the Student Support Team may be recommended. Parents and carers of students who are verified are invited to attend regular, informal gatherings where support and information are provided
Support for students with special needs is provided by the Learning Enhancement Centre in two ways:
- Assessing the child either individually or in a group situation and providing intervention to be implemented for the individual or a small group in either a withdrawal situation or in the classroom.
- Through consultancy support which is provided to parents and teachers through professional development, during the Student Support Team meetings or through the acquisition, development and/or the provision of suitable resources.
Support, for students with special needs, is provided by the Learning Enhancement Centre in two ways:
- Through direct support. This is provided by assessing the child and feeding the results back to the child's parents and a plan of action is developed.
- Through consultancy support, which is provided to parents and teachers, during the Student Support Team meetings or through the acquisition, development and/or the provision of suitable resources.
Specific services include:
- Referrals to outside helping agencies including Speech and Language Pathologists, Psychologists, visiting teachers and the Student Support Team.
- Assessment including the observation of individuals or class groups and through diagnostic testing.
- The implementation of short term programs in collaboration with the classroom teacher
- Consultation with class teachers, parents, students, the Leadership Team and outside agencies
- The development and implementation of behaviour management strategies using the Marymount behaviour management system, Positive Behaviour for Learning, to help support children's learning needs and behavioural expectations.
- In class support
There are some general classroom principles that support students with learning difficulties. These include:
- Explicit instruction, modelling, scaffolding
- Regular monitoring of the progress of the student
- Small group, or individual systematic teaching, on a regular basis